Civil rights veterans criticize colleague's remark

6:03 PM,
May 14, 2013

Kwame Leo Lillard

Written by

Michael Cass
| The Tennessean

A group of civil rights movement veterans has disavowed a fellow activist's comment about an artist who hoped to create public art celebrating Nashville's central role in the movement.

In a story published in March, activist Kwame Leo Lillard told The Tennessean, "There's no way in the world a Chinese kid from California who's under 50 years old can come here and develop a piece of art that symbolizes the struggle of the Nashville Movement." That upset Chinese-born sculptor Ai Qiu Hopen, who actually lives in West Virginia and was a finalist for the Metro Arts Commission job until recently.